Tag Archives: Scripture

Retraining our Minds

12 Replies

We tend to believe our emotions or thoughts–they’re inside us, they must be true. But believing them often means not believing God.

This catches me every so often. I’ll be sure I’m right, and then I realize that this feeling or thought is directly opposed to what God says.

I may put too much stock in my own understanding (He’s working on that!) but when I bring it down to “me or God” I have to admit He’s more likely to be right!

The trick is to catch those pesky thoughts/feelings and retrain them by replacing them with God’s true Word. Different verses help different people in their circumstances, but here are a few of mine:

When I despair of ever changing: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV*

When I’m feeling down: “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” Isaiah 50:10b, NIV*

When I feel inadequate: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3, NIV*

What are some of the verses that help you?

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Believing God

2 Replies

Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6, NIV*

God told this childless old man that the longing of his heart – the aching wound he had carried so long – would be satisfied. And Abram believed him. Pure and simple. He accepted God’s promise as truth, and trusted God to do as He said. There’s peace in that.

For me, his simple acceptance of God’s word is key. Not the particular promise he received, but the general heart attitude of believing God. Not whether he understood the hows and whys, nor what was at stake, just that he heard God and believed him.

Sometimes we hear God speak a personal word to us. We may not understand, but we need to trust His character and believe Him. Every day, whether we hear Him or not, we have His character and promises revealed in the Bible. We can believe them.

It’s the simplicity of Abram’s belief that inspires me. I’m so bad about complicating things. Instead of fretting, I need to quietly believe God. Accept Him. Let Him be the strong one, the leader. Trust Him and let Him have the wheel.

Help me, Father, to take my proper place trusting You, open to You, believing You. I’m sorry for the tangled complication I make of life – and of my own thoughts – and ask You to lead me into a simplicity of spirit that rests in You – actively trusts You – believes You the way a flower believes the sun.

Our song this week is “Lord (I Don’t Know)” by the Newsboys.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Not Forgetting

3 Replies

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:23-25, NIV*

As  a new mom, I thought I could tell my toddler something once—explain it to him—and that would be enough. Before long I was reciting the age-old parental question, “How many times to I have to tell you not to do that?”

Now I understand the reason young children need repeated coaching: they’re still developing cognitive and reasoning skills. We’re often like that with spiritual lessons, or at least I am. I wonder what some of the things are that God has been patiently repeating, waiting for me to process?

In this chapter alone I see a few:

  • Pay attention and consciously apply what He says;
  • Perspective: see that trials prove I can depend on God-and don’t take them personally;
  • Trust God’s character when I’m asking for wisdom; He wants to give it, and I don’t have to convince Him;
  • It’s about God, not about me.

He could zap me in some mystical way to “get” the message, and sometimes people do learn in one take… often the hard way. But it seems His preferred method is involving us in the learning. Any teacher will tell us it’s a more effective way to ensure the message sticks.

Instead of passively reading the Bible and then carrying on as usual in our days, let’s stay alert for the verses that really resonate with us. Maybe stick them on the fridge or steering wheel. Think about what they mean in our circumstances. Speak them aloud. After all, they’re our defence against despair and defeat… and one way God wants to grow us.

Father, I confess I tend to wait for You to change me, when You want to involve me in the change. You are the power in the equation. I can’t change myself. But you want to develop my spiritual muscles so I’ll grow up in my faith. Thank You for Your patient teaching. Please help me pay attention and practice what You teach.

Our song this week is “Thy Word,” sung here by the Maranatha Singers.

*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.